# Anwen

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Anwen
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Anwen.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwen
> Source revision: 1311084609
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{About-distinguish-text|a Welsh forename|the Sindarin name [Arwen](/source/Arwen) or the mythological otherworld [Annwn](/source/Annwn)}}
{{Infobox given name2
| name = Anwen
| image=
| image_size=
| caption=
| pronunciation=
| gender = Feminine
| meaning = Very beautiful 
| language = [Welsh](/source/Welsh_language)
| seealso =
}}
'''Anwen''' is a [Welsh](/source/Welsh_people) feminine [name](/source/Given_name). Notable bearers of the name are:
*[Anwen Williams](/source/List_of_Torchwood_characters), fictional character in the [BBC](/source/BBC) series ''[Torchwood](/source/Torchwood)'' (daughter of [Gwen Cooper](/source/Gwen_Cooper) and [Rhys Williams](/source/Rhys_Williams_(Torchwood)))
*[Anwen Keeling](/source/Anwen_Keeling) (born 1976), Australian painter
*[Anwen Muston](/source/Anwen_Muston), British Labour Party politician

It is not a very common first name, though neither is it rare. However, Anwen is popularly confused with "[Arwen](/source/Arwen)", a name created by the author and linguist [J. R. R. Tolkien](/source/J._R._R._Tolkien) for use in his novel ''[The Lord of the Rings](/source/The_Lord_of_the_Rings)'', and modelled on the etymology and sound patterns of [Welsh](/source/Welsh_language).<ref>{{cite news|title=Language plays special role in Tolkien's trilogy|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/2002/02/02/language-plays-special-role-in-tolkien-s-trilogy-91466-11584938/|publisher=Wales Online|last=Owen|first=Rhodri|date=2002-02-02|access-date=2013-03-24}}</ref>

The [origin](/source/Etymology)s of Anwen are somewhat unclear, though the -''wen'' ending is known to represent the mutated form of the adjective ''gwen'' (note: the ''G'' in ''gwen'' is dropped in a mutation of the word as the word follows a [consonant](/source/Consonant_mutation)), which is the feminine form of ''gwyn'', used to mean "white" as well as "blessed". There are many other [dithematic](/source/dithematic) -''wen'' names in use in [Wales](/source/Wales) today, some examples being:
*Arianwen, which is a [compound](/source/Compound_(linguistics)) of the Welsh word ''arian'' meaning "silver" (possibly also found in ''[Arianrhod](/source/Arianrhod)'') + -''wen''
*[Branwen](/source/Branwen), formed from Welsh ''brân'' "crow" + -''wen''
*Rhianwen = ''[rhian](/source/rhian)'', a form of ''rhiain'' "maiden" (also found in ''[Rhiannon](/source/Rhiannon)'') + -''wen''
*Tanwen = ''tân'' "fire" + -''wen''

The -''wen'' suffix used in the coining of many modern Welsh girls' names was originally appended to the names of female saints in the sense of "holy" or "blessed", roughly equivalent to English "[Saint](/source/Saint)".<ref name="kimkat">{{cite web |last=Tawe |first=Ianto Glan |title=List of Welsh Forenames (N-Z) |publisher= The “Cymru-Catalonia” (Wales-Catalonia) Website |date=2006-09-30 |url=http://kimkat.org/amryw/1_enwau/enwau_bedydd_cymraeg_geiriadur_2_2524e.htm |access-date=2013-01-08 |quote=-WEN: Suffix used in the formation of female names. From ''gwen'', the feminine form of ''gwyn'' (= white, pure, blessed, holy). Two of the 24 daughters of [Brychan Brycheiniog](/source/Brychan_Brycheiniog) became nuns, and have churches dedicated to them — Dwyn ([Llanddwyn](/source/Llanddwyn) on the island of Môn / [Anglesey](/source/Anglesey)) and Cain ([Llan](/source/Llan_(placename_element))-[gain](/source/Llangain) in the county of [Caerfyrddin](/source/Carmarthen)). They are also known as [Dwynwen](/source/Dwynwen) (‘holy Dwyn’) and [Ceinwen](/source/Ceinwen) (‘holy Cain’). It [i.e., the [suffix](/source/Suffix_(name)) -''wen''] was first used in the names of female saints in the sense of ‘holy’}}</ref> [Ceinwen](/source/Ceinwen) ("Saint Cain") is an alternative name for the Welsh saint Cain, for example; cf. also ''[Dwynwen](/source/Dwynwen)'' "Saint Dwyn" and ''Meirwen'' "Saint Mary ([mother of Jesus](/source/Mary_(mother_of_Jesus)))".<ref name="kimkat" />

The initial syllable (''An''-) is sometimes identified as an [intensive](/source/Intensifier) prefix, hence "very" or "much" (also found at the beginning of ''[Angharad](/source/Angharad)''), and the name in full is commonly interpreted to mean "very beautiful" (a sort of prefixed form of ''[Gwen](/source/Gwen_(given_name))'', in its sense of "pretty, fair"). It could also be inspired by the Welsh term of endearment ''annwyl'', which is used to mean "dear, beloved" (compare the surname [Anwyl](/source/Anwyl_of_Tywyn_Family) and the word ''anwylyd'' ("darling, loved one"), which is simply ''annwyl'' with the addition of the suffix -''yd''), or the common name [Ann](/source/Anna_(given_name)).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Given name|cat=Welsh feminine given names}}

Category:Feminine given names

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Anwen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.